End of The World and a New Beginning
by Ellaine7
Summary: "Project Alice, terminate Angela Ashford now."  Tears ran down her face as Alice hoisted the 9mm weapon and steadily aimed it at Angie…    Partially Moviebased. After Apocalypse. Future Alice/Carlos pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, or any of the characters.

First attempt at fanfiction. Enjoy. This part takes place right after Apocalypse, but just before Extinction.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

The first thought that came to my mind was the pain. Pain in my right side just below my ribcage, accompanied with a splitting headache as I shifted my head slightly to the left.

While grasping the side of my head with my trembling left hand, I slowly opened my eyes, still mindful of the pain in my side, and glanced at my surroundings before turning back to inspect the damage on my body.

Sure enough, there was an ugly gash on the side of my stomach, clearly visible through my white shirt, most of which was now stained with blood. "Not exactly life-threatening," Alice murmured to herself.

Clenching her teeth, she slowly got up from the floor and examined her surroundings once more.

The room was dark and had a laboratory feel to it with the black computers and science-like tables at the back of the room. It looked familiar to Alice but she couldn't figure out why. Turning around, she took in another sight that she had failed to notice earlier. It was _that_ symbol again. The Umbrella Logo.

"No. It can't be!" She said out loud.

Grasping the edge of the table for support, Alice leaned into it as a wave of memories went crashing through her.

_(Flashback) **"**Well, well, well, it seems Project Alice has come back to us. Looks like we are in control of you after all," Dr. Isaac exclaimed with much enthusiasm. The three Umbrella scientists next to him looked just as pleased, and quickly resumed their work on the computers. "Oh, and if anything out of the ordinary starts to happen, then inform me. We do not need another incident to occur like the last time," Dr. Isaac said while eyeing his subordinate scientists. Alice assumed he was speaking of the time she had escaped the facility where they had experimented on her, just shortly after the famous Raccoon incident. _

_Alice trembled and tried to fight for control of her body, but to no avail. She was just like a dog at this moment, forced to obey Dr. Isaac, her master. To her dismay, she wasn't even able to speak._

"_Oh and if you don't mind, take out that annoying little brat who followed you over here. We needed you, not her." he finished saying with a slightly amused tone._

_A wave of panic enveloped Alice as her right hand grasped the gun on her leg holster. It was evident to everyone that she was using all of her strength to try and gain back control of her limbs and entire body._

"_Alice, please! Fight it. You have to!" screamed Angie who had been trailing behind Alice the entire time._

_"Project Alice, terminate Angela Ashford now.'' Dr. Isaac commanded._

_Tears ran down her face as Alice hoisted the 9mm. weapon and steadily aimed it at Angie…_

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><p>I know this chapter is short, but the next chapters will be longer. Please rate and review. It helps :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

How Alice hadn't noticed the lifeless bodies of the scientists when she glanced around earlier was beyond her. But she knew she was the root cause of them being dead in the first place. She just hoped that Dr. Isaac was one of them on the cold, concrete floor of the building.

Panic rushed through her once more as she thought of Angie. _Oh god please let her be safe. I swear I'll kill myself if I hurt her. I wouldn't be able to face Jill, or LJ, or Car—_

Alice shook the thought out of her head, determined to find Angie and get the both of them where they belonged. Back with the rest of the team that was just as deadest to destroy Umbrella as she was.

"Angie, are you in here?" whispered Alice while slowly walking around the half-damaged room.

Receiving no reply, she quickly opened the door and exited the room, gun in hand. She wasn't taking any chances in case Umbrella workers still happened to be inside the building. _Better to be safe than sorry, _she thought bitterly.

Alice quickly walked through the dim lit, narrow hallway of the Umbrella facility in hopes of possibly finding any signs of Angie.

At the end of the hallway branched two new paths. Alice knew the right one would take her out of the miserable facility, but something told her that Angie was still in the building so she took the left hallway.

Once again, it had poor lighting but nothing that the new Alice couldn't handle. It seemed that whatever experimentation they had done to her increased her vision twofold. It was hard for Alice to deal with the fact that she wasn't all human anymore. She was a bio-weapon created for Umbrella. A project for their own personal use in a world now being overtaken by the deadly T-virus.

At the end of the hallway was yet another octagonal shaped door, with the symbol that just screamed Umbrella. Unfortunately, she needed a passcode to enter that particular room. Oddly enough, a series of numbers flashed through her mind as she brushed her fingers over the security keypad. Raising her gun slightly higher, Alice momentarily punched in numbers on the security key to gain entrance. Access Granted appeared and the door lifted from the bottom up.

The room was slightly smaller than the one she had been in earlier. Alice guessed it was a security room, considering the numerous screens that showed certain sections of the facility. Not to mention that she did indeed pass a couple of surveillance cameras while searching through the facility.

"Don't worry. The place is deserted for the time being. I think you surpassed Dr. Isaac's expectations." The huge, black leather chair next to the surveillance screens swiveled around to reveal none other than Angela Ashford. Daughter of the deceased Umbrella scientist Charles Ashford. Charles was the one to begin the experimentation of the T-virus, but for an entirely different purpose than what it was used for. It had been intended for medical purposes for his daughter, Angela. Before the infection had occurred, he had gone days on end researching and inventing an unknown experiment to use on Angela so that she would be able to walk once more. It proved successful, but shortly afterward, Umbrella caught what he had been doing and eventually whisked away the T-Virus to claim for themselves. Then came the Raccoon Incident and Alice, along with a few others, had rescued Angela just before the nuclear bomb was set to destroy the city.

Alice lowered her gun and ran toward the little girl. Not knowing what to say to her, she wrapped Angie in a big hug. "I'm so sorry,''she whispered to Angie, fighting back the tears that wanted to escape.

"What for? I'm perfectly alright aren't I?" Angie replied with a smile. She returned the hug to Alice as if to reassure her she was perfectly fine.

"Yes you are but what if I had-" Angie cut Alice off and replied,

"Look, you didn't kill me. OK? Alice, don't you remember what happened after Dr. Isaac commanded you to shoot me?"

Not replying back she focused on trying to remember what happened. A gasp exited her as another wave of memories washed through her once more.

_(Flashback) Alice could feel her body continue on with the action she so desperately tried to stop. Her finger wrapped around the trigger of the gun, ready to shoot at her defenseless target._

_"No", Project Alice said through clenched teeth. Looking up from the clipboard in his hand, Dr. Isaac gave her a shocked look._

_He walked up to Project Alice with a smirk on his face. "That's odd. You shouldn't be able to do that. I guess we need to still work on a couple of things to make sure you can't deny orders." What he didn't know was that the real Alice was back in control again._

_"Uh sir," a thin scientist to his right said. The computer he was working on was flashing red. It showed that Alice was becoming unstable._

_"What is it now?" he snapped at the scientist. "Can't you see I'm a bit busy?"_

_The moment Dr. Isaac turned around to look at the scientist, Alice immediately roundhouse kicked him and sent him crashing onto the floor next to the door. He didn't move._

_Alarmed at the sudden event, the thin scientist pressed a button at the bottom of his desk to alert Umbrella security. The other two scientists behind him ran for the weapons at the tables in the back of the room, clearly hoping to try and subdue her. "As if they could shoot me," she thought. Before they even got to the tables, Alice took aim and shot them with pinpoint accuracy. They slowly fell to the floor with a soft thud and didn't move._

_Anger overwhelmed Alice as she walked toward the last defenseless scientist that was still alive. He was one of them. An Umbrella pawn that couldn't see the evils of what he was working on. She felt no sympathy for him._

_"Before I snap your neck and kill you, tell me why I was chosen for this. Why am I the Project that Umbrella chose to experiment on?" The scientist calmly wiped his glasses, clearly thinking of how to respond. But before he could say something, another all too familiar voice cut in._

_"Because you survived in the Hive and made it out of Raccoon City alive. It wasn't mere coincidence or sheer luck that kept you becoming one of those zombies. It was your skill, your strength, your will to stay alive that brought our attention to you. Scratch that. It was those traits that got my attention." Dr. Isaac replied while getting up from the floor, wiping away blood from the edge of his mouth. "And I think it will be very amusing to watch your abilities unfold these next couple of years."_

_As if that was some cue, the scientist next to Alice grabbed a scalpel like instrument covered in a purple substance from under his report papers. He lunged at Alice, but she quickly reacted to dodge the oncoming attack and yet, still managed to get cut on her stomach. She brought her boot down onto the scientist's head; a sickening crack reassured her he was now dead. She couldn't believe that a meager scientist like him had been able to slice her._

_"What the hell did you do to me!" Alice yelled at Dr. Isaac. Her vision started to get blurry and she could feel an onset of vertigo. _

_Before he responded, a swarm of Umbrella workers dressed in black military type uniforms barged in, aiming their weapons at the collapsed form of Project Alice._

_"Enough", he said. "She is out cold for the time being. The sedative worked like a charm. A scientist needs to always be ready in case an experiment doesn't go as planned. Anyway, prepare to leave this facility; we have more work that needs to be done. Leave the Project and the girl here. We don't need them for the time being." And with that they took their leave._

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><p><strong>Hopefully this chapter made up for the previous one. Storywriting is still very new to me so I'm sorry if its not what you expected. I appreciate the reviews though :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil. (Unfortunately)**

**For this chapter, most of what is Italicized are the thoughts of said character.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"Alice what's wrong? Please wake up!" I grabbed Alice and gently shook her to try and get her to open her eyes. All I did was ask her if she remembered what had happened, and then all of a sudden her eyes had rolled back and she collapsed onto the floor.

"W-what happened," Alice whispered, her eyes still tightly closed, a clear indication that she was is pain.

"I don't know, you just collapsed while I was talking to you. I'm sorry, I think it was my fault." Angie said in a worried tone. She even looked worried with her eyebrows raised in a concerned sort of way.

"Ugh. Well that fall sure did hurt," Alice replied to Angie while rubbing the now tender and bruised side of her head. "It wasn't your fault. It's Umbrellas. They did something to me and I had a hard time remembering some stuff, but it's all coming back to me now." I told her in a soft voice. That kid didn't deserve to be going through this. She should be enjoying what every normal kid would be doing. Well, if the world had still been _normal_ at least. Meaning zombie free. Of course that wouldn't happen for a while, or maybe ever again.

"Can we go back to Jill, LG, and Carlos now?" she asked me.

_"Oh shit_," I thought. I had completely forgotten about them for the time being. When we got back it was going to be a long story on explaining what happened. As a matter of fact, she had no idea how she was even going to begin telling them.

"Angie?"

"Yes?" she replied back.

"Where are we anyway? I, well, wasn't completely in control of myself earlier so…."

"As if I didn't know that", she chuckled before continuing. "Apparently we are at the Detroit facility. It's one of the smallest underground Umbrella facilities." She told me proudly. "I found that out on the computer in the lab earlier before stumbling upon this room. Figured you were going to ask me sooner or later." Alice could't help but think that Angie acted much more mature for her age. She was a very smart kid.

"Well then at least we aren't that far off from where the rest of the team is. But I have to do one more thing though before we leave this place," I replied back to her.

"And what would that be?" she questioned, entirely curious as to what we could possibly have a reason to stay any minute longer in this retched place.

"I have to go back into the lab and fix a couple of things," I said in a harsh voice. I hadn't directed my tone toward her, but rather toward Umbrella, and she seemed to know that .

"Then let's get going," She told me as she offered her small hand to me as I got up from the floor.

We walked once more through the hallways that led back to the lab. I took the lead while Angie followed from behind. I stayed on guard as always even though we were certain no one remained in the building. It was just a force of habit to me now. An instinct that would never leave me as long as this world remained in the hands of that dreadful corporation.

Once we reached the lab I took a seat in one of the black swivel chairs and easily hacked into the computers. Umbrella had been able to get in control of me somehow and I had to find out how. Searching through the computer files, I quickly glanced through small sections of there plans and experimental data that had been collected. "_That's it_," I thought whilst stopping on a page that had details of controlling devices. _They must have been using the satellites to get to my coordinates and control me_. _Its the only way they could of known of my location_. I managed to re-route some of the Umbrella satellites so that I could have a better chance of avoiding them through out the day. Although I couldn't be entirely sure if that would be enough to keep Umbrella off my trail, it was still worth a shot. I finished what I had to do quickly, and completely erased all the data from the computer before deciding to toss it from the lab table. It smashed into pieces as it hit the floor.

"Was that part really necessary?"

"Not really, but if there's a chance they come back, I don't want them knowing what we were up to with the computers in here," I explained to Angela before reassuming the destruction of the other computers.

Once Alice was thoroughly satisfied with leaving no evidence of what she had done, she started walking towards the door, but suddenly stopped. "By the way, if you knew they left the facility earlier then why didn't you try to wake me up? You sort of left me on the ground in the lab you know."

"Oh Alice, it's just that I was scared so I didn't know how to react at the time. Dr. Isaac had tried to grab me so I ran out of the room. I hadn't realized that they were actually leaving the facility."

Alice didn't say a word, but rather gave Angie a blank look. Angie started to fidget from the uncomfortably awkward silence that ensued.

"I was just messing with you. I figured you had a good reason to leave me there. Not like you could drag me around the facility while I was unconscious", Alice teasingly replied.

She smiled for the first time since they had been down in the facility. "You are so mean Alice!"

"Come on, let's get out of here and get back to everyone Angie". I smiled at her and grabbed her hand to lead the way. I don't think I would ever admit to Angie that she was like a daughter to me. At least, for now I wouldn't admit it, but maybe someday she would know.

XXxxXX

"Jill, we need to do something now. I know Alice and Angela wouldn't have just left without telling one of us. We ne-"

"Stop. Just listen to yourself. Panicking and acting out without a plan will get us all killed." Jill had had enough of how Carlos was behaving. It just wasn't him. He was a tough guy that had the mind of a leader and skills that were on par or even superior than her own. Jill new, or at least had a hunch, that just maybe, there was something between him and Alice. Yet she also knew the two were so absorbed in taking Umbrella down that they would never fully admit or show that type of affection. "_Those two are just so thick-headed_." she thought.

"Yea bro, listen to the lady. I'm worried about little Angie and Alice to ya know, but no way we can head out there searching blindly." LJ stepped closer to the two very tense members of his team in hopes of getting them to agree on something. "And if those fuckers from Umbrella had anything to do with it, I'll make sure they enjoy being shot by these," he said while pointing out his two gold, custom made handguns. His attempt at lighting up the mood ended in failure.

"Sorry, I got carried away," muttered Carlos while running a hand through his dark hair. A force of habit for the former Umbrella agent. " Let's sit down and just wait it out. Hopefully they do indeed come back." The three of them sat down at the glass breakfast room table. They had taken temporary refuge in an abandoned hotel, and chose a master suite at the top level of the building. It was the only room that could accommodate the entire team while keeping them close to the two emergency stair exits as well as the elevator. Somehow, the hotel still had running water and electricity of which all of them were grateful for. Not to mention it had three bedrooms, a kitchen, breakfast area, fancy furniture, and a balcony overlooking the pool and parking lot underneath. Heck, it was more like a luxurious Pentagon house to them.

Jill fumbled with a formally decorative napkin that had been placed on the table before deciding to breaking the silence. "Look, I'm just as worried as the both of you. Believe me. It's hard to just want to sit her and do nothing. When they get back, the first thing we need to do is grab some cell phones to stay in touch at all times. This could of been prevented."

Carlos gave Jill a stern look before responding. "No. Not cell phones. We can easily be tracked through those. More like old-fashioned walkie-talkies for us."

"Right," she replied. Even though the world had seemed to come to an end, their journey was just beginning.

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><p><strong>I know this chapter was boring and short, but I had to end this part so the next chapter will be much more eventful for you guys. Hopefully the continuous switching from each character wasn't too confusing to follow.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I hope this never happens again," murmured Angela as she and Alice walked out the front entrance of the facility.

Alice heard her and turned toward Angela. She steadily gazed at the little girl, seriousness evident in her face. Alice gently put her hands on both of Angela's shoulders to ensure she got her full attention before speaking.

"Angie, would you please look up at me." She tilted her head upward, apparently ready to listen to whatever Alice was going to say.

"I promise to protect you Angie. I promise to protect Carlos and LJ and Jill too. To protect all of you from the biggest mistake I've made. That being the T-virus that I should have managed to contain back at the Hive. It's my fault all this has happened and I intend to fix it. Starting with the elimination of _Umbrella_ and its employees."

Alice took her hands off Angela and headed towards the west side of the facility where the Umbrella vehicles were sure to be. She was grateful for the momentary silence as it gave her a chance to think more clearly of the situation. And a problem that was hard to not notice continued to bug her, making her very uneasy. Why had Umbrella left the place so deserted instead of gaining control of her and finishing off Angie themselves? Why did they abandon the facility as well as leave just one vehicle in the parking lot? In fact, it was the same vehicle they used to drive to that place. It was just so concerning to Alice because she knew they had something up their sleeves and she was once again, powerless against it.

They reached the black expedition truck and Angela quickly climbed right in. Alice hesitated before getting in, deciding to check around and underneath the vehicle for any "extra attachments". That being any possible tracking devices. Satisfied that the outside of the vehicle looked normal, Alice opened the truck door and hopped into the driver's seat. Unfortunately Alice did not have the ignition key, but had the necessary skills to hotwire the truck. A little trick she had learned from the former S.T.A.R.S member Jill Valentine. Jill had recently taught her the trick in turn for some new fighting lessons from Alice. It seemed like a decent trade to her and was a benefit to the both of them in the long run anyway.

"You don't believe they left our hideout, do you Alice?" Angela asked while buckling her seat belt in.

"Of course not. They wouldn't abandon us just like that," Alice stated. Actually, Alice didn't really know if the team would stay at the hotel in hopes of them returning. So she told Angie a little lie in order to make sure that the young girl wouldn't have any worries. She just hoped that she was right.

They quickly passed through the unguarded gated facility exit and onto the desolate road, full intentions of going south toward their comrades hiding place. The hour long trip was full of silence as each of them was deep in thought of the events they had just encountered with Umbrella.

Angie continued to stare out her window, watching the zombies linger in the small towns and parks and dense forests they passed by. No signs of life were evident in any of those areas. Just the mindless, flesh-eating zombies that ruined the entire country of the U.S. For all she knew, the deadly disease probably had already reached around and infected the entire Earth's population.

"Hmm,"

"Oh what now?" Angela asked, clearly agitated. Alice figured that Angela was a bit on the tired side considering they had been gone for about an entire day.

"Good news is we are just 10 miles from the hotel. Bad news is that we're running on empty right now." Alice tapped at the gas meter, the little arrow clearing pointing to the "E" which meant empty. A clear indication that there truck was practically running on nothing. "We need to stop at this gas station," she informed Angela.

Alice swiftly turned the vehicle to the right and entered the abandoned ExxonMobil gas station, continuously searching for signs of the undead in their new surroundings. The gas station showed as much wear-and-tear as the rest of the town that they were currently in. Usually any large area with buildings or houses screamed zombie territory, but when you need supplies, or in this case fuel, you really don't have much of a choice.

"Alright, just stay put and I'll fill the truck up. Keep an eye out for me."

"Ok," replied Angela before deciding to add in what was on her mind. "Oh since we're here, it might be a good idea to search for some food in the store. We are running pretty low last I remember."

Alice glanced around, clearly satisfied that there were hardly any zombies from what she could see around the store grounds. She didn't know if any were in the store but the need for food to keep them alive was worth the risk of entering it. She placed the gas nozzle back into its place and closed the gas cap on the truck."Toss me a flashlight from the glove compartment and stay in the truck. If something is wrong then honk the horn and I'll be right out of that store before you know it," Alice said to Angie.

Angie was definitely concerned but did her best to hide it. "Just be careful," she said.

"You know I always am," replied Alice before quickly turning around and running toward the broken glass door of the store. Alice decided it was best to leave Angie in the truck rather than having her come into the store with her.

Alice opened the door and drew out her gun from the leg holster she held it in. Flashlight in her left hand, and the gun in her other, she maneuvered around the numerous items that scattered the floor. It was as if an earthquake had recently happened, because everything was destroyed and the shelves were practically devoid of all items. But of course that probably wasn't what really happened. Zombies were to blame for this as well as any survivors who had managed to rummage through the remains of the store. "_After all, anything goes in a world full of danger. Including fiver finger discounts," _Alice thought.

As she reached the back of the room where the cashier counter was, a terrible stench reached her nose. It smelled like...rotten flesh. Alice immediately recognized that she wasn't alone in the store. And she was right. Not a moment sooner, a zombie rounded around the corner of the cashier counter and went straight for Alice, its decaying teeth ready to sink into her arm. It was a regular slow zombie of which Alice quickly took care of with her martial arts skills rather than her weapon. She just snapped its neck and that was the end it.

"Sorry Stevie," she casually said as the decaying corpse hit the floor. She had read the nametag on the zombie's cashier uniform. Alice was indeed still fearful of zombies, but kept her cool and continued staying on alert ever since the initial breakout. Panicking always meant certain death for most and she did not feel like being a victim. After grabbing a couple of cans that were on the floor, she swiftly left the store, thinking about how they could be sorted later on.

Angie unlocked the car door, relief evident in her face. "I knew you would be just fine," she said. Alice just nodded at her and started the truck once more, tossing the newfound supplies into the back before taking off.

XXxxxXXXXXxxxxx

"Do you hear something?" asked Carlos. He got out of his chair to take a look outside the window facing the parking lot and street. Sure enough, he spotted a black vehicle heading in the direction of the hotel. It veered into the parking lot and parked in front of the lobby.

"It's them!" replied Jill, who had been standing right next to Carlos to see what the commotion had been about. She just knew it had to be them. She remembered the car the two had left in and it was the same one now parked near the lobby.

"Well what the fuck are we waiting for? Christmas? Comon, let's go down there right now." LJ exclaimed as he put on his brown jacket before leaving out of the suite.

The three walked out and took the elevator to get to the main floor, still on alert. Never know what could be lying around the corner. They reached the lobby, which apparently looked safe as ever, and watched as two familiar people exited the truck.

"Carlos, Jill, and LJ!" Angela yelled as she ran into the lobby into Jill's strong embrace. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you to," whispered Jill.

Alice walked in to see the touching scene. Jill and LJ were talking with Angela, both clearly happy that no harm had been done to the little girl. She then turned to look at the tall, muscular and tanned man who was always wearing a tight green shirt with military clothing. Carlos, the former UBCS squad member who had been detached to take care of the bizarre events that had occurred in Raccoon city. Later on of course, he found out the real truth and ended up making it out alive with Alice and the others. Alice hated to admit to herself that the man certainly had a charm. She was captivated the moment she had crossed paths with the former Umbrella worker. Not that she would ever make her feelings noticeable. "_There just isn't any time for_ _romance,_" Alice thought. In reality, Alice was hurting from the past relationship with Spencer, and the almost relationship with Matt Addison. Spencer and her had been Umbrella Security agents that were married and living in a mansion in order to keep the Hive a secret. It was all just for the sake of the job, but they actually eventually fell in love with each other. Then came the betrayal as Spencer was the once to release the T-virus as well as attempt to place the rest on the black market. He never loved her. As for Matt, she could only recall the guilt of not keeping a promise to him. She fell for him as they fought to survive through the Hive. He had been what Spencer wasn't and now he was dead because of her. Everyone that was around her seemed to meet some form of demise and Alice didn't want anything happening to Carlos.

Carlos couldn't help but stare at the thin, but toned blue-eyed beauty that walked into the lobby just wearing a plain white shirt and jeans. Her clothing was dull, but the woman seemed to bring life back into them by just wearing it. Like him, she was heavily armed with weapons, clearly prepared for the unexpected. Alice, a former security member that escaped the tragedy at the Hive as well as Raccoon City with him and the others. The little time he had spent with Alice was enough to get his attention at how she was fierce and skilled in combat and how she seemed to be a natural leader. Confidence just seemed to emanate from her. There was no doubt in his mind that Alice caught his attention in a different way compared to other women he had seen. Hell, she captivated him more than those he had actually dated! Carlos wasn't sure if Alice had any feelings for him. Even if she did, it just wasn't the right time for romance. They had work to do and it was time to push that fairytale thought to the back of his mind.

Carlos gave Alice a small smile. An indication he was glad to have both her and Angela alive. "Well I think we need to head back up to the suite. We can discuss everything in there," he stated. His brown eyes still glued to the form of Alice as he talked.

To say she was hurt at his reaction was an understatement. Alice thought he would at least give her a friendly hug or ask if she was alright. Not wanting to make it into a big deal, she kept a serious expression on her face and replied, "Good idea. It's safer to talk up there."

And with that they all scrambled into the elevator, apparently glad to be together once again.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Alice, Dr. Isaac had been able to track the whereabouts of her and the rest of the team. Not through the satellites though. Rather a tracking device he had placed on Angela. He remembered how the frightened girl had run away from him back at the lab right after Project Alice collapsed. Angela thought that he was going to grab her and take her with them, but that hadn't been the case. Dr. Isaac's real plan had been to stick a form of tracking device onto her, and it worked perfectly. He was going to have a hell of a time endangering Alice and her newfound comrades. Dr. Isaac hoped that his attempt of killing Alice's friends would get her to further separate from all human beings she was in contact with. He wanted to see the real power of his experiment.

"Release the modified Lickers from cell B. It's time to test Project Alice", he said with an evil grin that would of scared anyone who managed to get a glimpse of it.

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><p><strong>First off, I'm sorry for the late update. School for me will be over in a couple of weeks so it'll be much easier to put chapters up faster. I want to give a big Thank You to all my reviewers because it is you guys that inspire me to continue writing this story! :) Oh and the part with "Sorry Stevie", you probably know I got it from the time Alice killed the zombie in Extinction with an arrow. Just thought to incorporate it into my story in a different way. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Alice you have some explaining to do," Jill said in a forceful tone. Jill Valentine was a former suspended S.T.A.R.S member during the Raccoon Incident. Long story short, they had met in the Raven's Gate Church in Raccoon City right after Alice purposely broke through its windows with her motorcycle to take out the Lickers. The outcome being three dead Lickers, a tired Alice, and an astonished, very much alive Jill. At that time, they had overcome their differences in order to work together to get out of the City. They quickly became friends to an extent, a sort of trust had formed between them, just enough to get along with each other.

"I know I do, and it's going to be a long story. Let's take a seat," Alice replied coolly. Alice could tell that Jill was upset. Her eyes showed a mix of emotions to Alice. A mixture of hatred but relief as well. To be honest though, she and Jill always had a form of tension between each other. The majority of it coming from the fact that they were both natural leaders, favoring the chance to lead or make decisions. Neither enjoyed putting their lives in someone else's hands when they could be deciding what the best option could be for the team.

"Angie, I think its bedtime for you right now." Carlos said while putting his right hand on the little girls shoulder.

"No it's fine. I can stay up for this conversation. I was a part of it anyway," she promptly replied.

Alice turned from where she was sitting to look upon Angie. "Carlos is right Angela. Don't worry, I'll tell them everything. This is grown up talk. Besides, it will be a boring conversation for you and you do need your sleep. I can tell."

The look Alice gave her made her realize that her argument in staying with them was futile. Angela nodded to Alice to show she would cooperate this time so she slowly walked towards the bedroom. She realized that she was indeed very tired from the eventful day anyway.

Jill, LJ, and Carlos sat down with Alice at the breakfast table, apparently ready to devote their attention to what she had to say. Over the next hour Alice recalled the events to them in thorough detail, making sure not to miss or skip any useful information. She wasn't going to leave anything out of her story, especially when the team trusted her.

"Fuckin wow," was all LJ could muster after Alice had finished talking. "_She sure likes following 'honesty is the best policy'. If I were her, I would of lied about it all,"_ LJ secretly thought. He was leaving it up to Carlos and Jill to ask any questions. He didn't want to stay knowing that Jill would cause an argument in some way, so he tiredly explained to the team how he was sleepy and wanted to go to bed because it was late. A lame excuse it was, but an excuse nevertheless.

Jill rose from her seat and bawled her hands into fists, bringing them both down onto the table in complete anger. "So you put Angie in danger and almost killed her yourself! I know you didn't mean to do that but if Umbrella is indeed in control of you, then you could inevitably put us all in danger. Alice I hate to say this but you must realize that you can't stay with us much longer if that's the case. I just can't jeopardize the others lives."

"Now just hold on a minute Jill, you need to cool off. Alice is part of this team so don't talk about getting rid of her like she is a piece of trash. _She_ is the one that helped us in Raccoon City and we owe our lives to her because she saved us. Besides, Alice rerouted the satellites so that Umbrella can't track her anymore," Carlos argued back, clearly defending Alice. He wasn't going to lose Alice again. He didn't want to.

"Maybe she did maybe she didn't, it's still not a guarantee that she won't ever succumb to those bastards contr—"

"No, you're right Jill. I'm a danger to you guys. It's not safe to stay with any of you anymore," Alice replied, effectively cutting off what Jill was about to say. "I don't want to hurt you guys," she said softly, fixing her blue eyes on Carlos. Alice abruptly got out of her chair to head for the door. Full intentions of leaving them for possibly forever.

"Alice please," Carlos argued, gently grabbing her wrist to stop her from leaving. A last ditch effort to keep her from exiting the room they were residing in. "Let's just talk some more about this. We can find some sort of solution."

"Dammit Carlos! Just let me go!" Alice yelled while wrenching her arm out of his firm grasp. Her barrier that kept her emotions in check was breaking. She was still human. She still felt pain, she still felt anger, and sadness and even love, all of which she so desperately had tried to keep hidden because they were a burden. Emotions were just one big burden. A burden that kept her from her goal of destroying Umbrella. A burden because they made her weak. A burden because it caused her to feel the guilt of not being able to save those that had been around her.

Alice opened the door and ran out, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the lobby. She couldn't let them see that she was crying. All the events that had unfolded that day brought her back to realizing how she was a danger to them all.

"I can't believe you," Carlos said in harsh voice, which was completely out of character for him. He was hoping it made Jill feel guilty. He turned to run out the already opened door, in full pursuit of Alice. Jill watched as he left, then sat down and rubbed her forehead, clearly distraught.

"Alice wait!" She could hear Carlos close behind her as they reached the empty lobby. He just wasn't going to let her go so easily. Alice stopped, frantically wiping the tears away and putting her emotional barrier back up. She wasn't going to show him how vulnerable she could be because it would just show him how _weak_ she was.

Carlos finally caught up to Alice in the lobby. Her back was still facing him and she could hear her breathing heavily, apparently trying to catch her breath like he was. "_Life is full of risks. I guess I'm going to take a major one right now._" he thought to himself. He put all his training and common sense aside and walked towards Alice. Without thinking of the consequences, he caringly wrapped his muscular arms around Alice's waist, pressing his chest to her back. And it definitely had an affect as he could feel her body instantly tense against his.

Alice was stunned at what Carlos was doing. He was hugging her, not even caring what she would say or do! Alice enjoyed the embrace too much to break away. She had secretly craved this type of affection that had been neglected for so long. And it was coming from Carlos of all people! Her mind told her to get away, to stop what was currently happening, but her body betrayed her and succumbed to the embrace. The tension in her body gently eased, and she melted into his caring hug.

What could he say? Having Alice in his arms felt comfortable. It felt natural, as if they were meant to be. As if they had done this so many times before when in fact, it was the first time they had ever been in such close contact with each other. To Carlos, it was like that missing gap between them had finally been filled. Carlos tilted his head down and softly whispered in Alice's ear, "Don't leave us. Don't leave _me_."

Alice shivered at the tenderness and vulnerability in his voice when he said that. He acted as if he absolutely needed her to continue living through the zombie plagued world. But she couldn't let this happen. She wanted it to, she wanted it to be more. She wanted to be with Carlos so much, yet wanting him absolutely safe overrode that. She collected herself before whispering back to reply to him. "Carlos I-,"

Alice couldn't finish her sentence, because at that moment, she sensed something was wrong. It felt like she had a sixth sense that told her to be ready for any oncoming danger. An indication that she needed to be on alert. Something was coming toward the hotel at an awfully fast pace and she could sense it through that new ability. She broke out of Carlos' embrace and drew out both her shotguns simultaneously from her back, shattering the brief moment they just had.

"Alice what's wrong?" Carlos asked, bringing out his Desert Eagle handgun and facing it in the same direction Alice was. That being the front sliding glass entrance doors of the lobby. He couldn't see anything outside, it was just too dark. "Alice I don't see anything." He slowly lowered his gun and turned his head to look at her. She stayed in the same place; her pose told him she wasn't going to listen to him. She knew something was up.

Alice immediately turned around and headed away from the doors. "Get behind the lobby desk. Right now! We have company," she yelled to Carlos. He followed her to take cover.

"Alice, go upstairs with the others. You aren't exactly at full strength right now. You look drained," Carlos whispered.

Alice turned for a brief moment to give him a look of disbelief. "Sometimes you have a terrible way of saying things at moments like these. How about you go up there and take care of the others while I stay down here. I have a better chance at survival, no offense."

"Those powers aren't very helpful when you don't have much strength, no offense." He retorted back.

"You are just so stubb-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she heard the shattering of the enormous glass entrance doors.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Angie shuffled out of her room, rubbing her tired eyes. "What was all that yelling about?" she tiredly asked Jill.

"Yea what was all that about? I though you guys were killing each other or some shit," LJ said, clearly agitated that he had been woken up.

Jill shot LJ a menacing glance, clearly disapproving of his choice of words in front of the child. Jill turned toward Angie and gently said, "It was nothing sweetie. Just a little argument, but it's all fixed now."

Angie didn't buy a word Jill said to her. "Then where are Alice and Carlos? They didn't leave us right?" she worriedly asked.

"No, they went downstairs to check the area. Like guard duty to make sure nothing was in the hotel," Jill lied.

The answer Jill provided seemed to have satisfied LJ and Angie, for they turned toward their rooms once more. But before they reached them, the sounds of gunfire reached their ears. And it was coming from downstairs, where Alice and Carlos supposedly were.

"Alice!" Angie yelled. She opened the door and ran out before Jill and LJ could even react. She wasn't even thinking when she left.

"Hey wait!" Jill yelled at Angie, running right behind her. She wasn't going to let Angela get hurt.

"Shit," LJ muttered as he trailed after the two, desperately attempting to catch up.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Carlos! Get down!" yelled Alice.

The giant monster launched itself at Carlos and he dove towards the floor, barely escaping the black claws of the creature. The creature had a name though. Licker. And there was two of them in the lobby. Alice new all to well of the grossly mutated creatures they were facing for she had encountered such things twice before. Once in the Hive and another time at Raccoon city in the Chapel. But she could tell these weren't like the ones she had faced before. For one, the appearance of them looked different. They were much larger and had rotten, decaying purple looking flesh rather than the typical bloody red color she had last remembered. The sharp claws were definitely much longer and were black instead of gray. But what caught her attention the most was the metal surrounding the pink brain-like head of the Licker. It almost appeared as if it were a helmet...

"_Shit. These have been experimented on. I can tell this is Isaac's doing._" Alice thought.

Alice gave out a sharp whistle to grab both of the Lickers attention away from the defenseless Carlos. It seemed to work for the Lickers were now facing her, preparing to jump at the newfound prey. Alice continued shooting at them while running towards a nearby pillar for protection. One of the Lickers screeched in apparent pain as the shotgun shells met its back leg and left side. It collapsed to the floor. The other Licker reacted to its fallen comrade and wasted no time in charging after Alice for revenge. Just as the creature reached her, she dove towards the nearby pillar and watched as the Licker slammed into the wall behind her.

Carlos got up from where he was and took cover near the lobby desk close to the stairway he had chased Alice through earlier. Seeing that the second Licker was momentarily stunned from the impact against the wall, he wasted no time in emptying his ammo clip on the creature. Like the first Licker, it screeched before falling to the floor.

Alice got up from the floor, slid her two shotguns back into place on her back, and walked toward Carlos.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Carlos exclaimed to her. A confident smirk covered his face.

Alice however, didn't smile back. "Those Lickers were deliberately sent here. The armored helmets didn't just magically grow around those things heads."

Before Carlos could reply something back, Angela appeared from the stairway entrance, followed by Jill and LJ.

"What the hell are those nasty looking motherfuckers," LJ yelled, pointing at the creatures laying on the floor.

"Looks like Lickers," Jill replied back before continuing on. "Are you two alright?" she asked.

Carlos and Alice looked at each other before replying in unison, "Yea."

Jill sighed in relief. "Look, what I said earlier was uncalled for. I was just mad that Angie could of been hurt. I should have kept my emotions in check."

"It's alright. I don't blame you anyway for what you had said. I really am a danger to you and the team after all." Alice replied.

"Alice you're wrong. You aren't a threat to us. You have saved us so many times. Please don't leave," Angela said. She ran towards Alice and gave her a tight hug as if to keep her from going anywhere. Alice looked down and showed a hint of a smile and returned the embrace.

"Ever since the end of the world, our lives have been in danger and it is no different now. The difference is being alone or staying together. And I for one think were just one big family at this moment. Were more than a team and we are going to get through this." Carlos said.

Angela left Alice to give Carlos a big hug as well. She was really glad nothing had happened to either of the two.

Being the usually worrywart, Alice looked behind the team to make sure the Lickers were indeed dead. But they were no longer there. Just traces of blood were left in the two spots they had been in just moments before.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion for Alice. She could see the Lickers on the ceiling preparing to leap at Carlos and Angela and she yelled at all of them to run back upstairs. Alice tried running toward Carlos and Angie while shooting at the Lickers, but she new she wasn't going to make it in time. Then she felt a sudden surge of power within her. Traces of her hidden powers were becoming more evident now. Alice's speed quickened and she ran faster towards the two while taking out a pistol and aiming right between a gap in the front of one of the Lickers helmet. It instantly dropped dead, and Alice directed her attention to shooting the other. Her adreneline kicked in as she forced the Licker's attention on to her and ran to the other pillar opposite of the one she hid behind earlier.

Carlos grabbed Angela and ran back for cover with Jill and LJ, whom were trying to get a shot at the last Licker but couldn't without the risk of shooting Alice.

"Hurry and shoot it before it gets Alice!" Carlos yelled. He kept looking back as he ran, debating if he should go and save her or protect Angie.

Alice could feel herself slowing down, blood starting running from her nose as she turned to face the Licker. Her powers usually left her useless afterward. She wasn't use to them and now she was paying the consequences for it. "_Is this really the end for me_?" she thought before the Licker latched on to her leg. Its huge black claws sunk into her flesh and she heard a sickening crack in her leg. The instant pain caused her to scream before everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Not sure if you can tell or not, but each chapter has been sort of getting longer as the story progresses. I hope that is an improvement haha. Well I just have one more week of school and then summer! Which means I can put some more attention to this story. Thank you to those who have found the time to read my story!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

1. _Anything Italicized for this chapter is the thoughts of said character._

_2.** Bold and Italicized like I am using to type right now are for the thoughts of Alice specifically.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"What happened? Why did we lose the visual feed on that last Licker?" Dr. Isaac asked his subordinate scientists. "I want to know if Alice is dead or not."

"I don't know sir. Someone must of shot at the helmet because that would have been one of the only things that could have disrupted it," replied a rather pudgy scientist. His I.D tag showing his name as Todd.

"You think?" Isaac sarcastically said. "Send more of the Lickers that way. We still have that tracking device on Angela last I recall."

"I'm not getting any feedback from the tracking device or from the satellite Dr. Isaac," was the response from a rather thin looking scientist sitting at the main computer station. "Todd, can you check if the device is broken or if we just lost the signal?"

"How about you figure that out? That part is your job and not mine Scott," replied Todd.

Dr. Isaac gripped the edge of the table in hopes of trying to keep his quickly rising anger in control. Through clenched teeth he replied, "Replay the footage we received before it disrupted for anything of use and continue working on tracking Alice down. Maybe even getting the tracking device to work again. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." He swiftly left the room leaving the tedious task to the other scientists.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Alice!" screamed Angela, tears ran down her face. "Let me go! I want to go see her!" LJ restrained Angela. He wasn't going to let the girl see Alice like that. It would just be too much for her if Alice happened to be dead.

"Alice!" Carlos yelled. He ran to the limp body on the floor lying by the now dead Licker. He kneeled down beside her. _Alice why would you do this_? He assessed the damage that the Licker had done. The monster had evidently broken her right leg. There was a gash on her stomach that was bleeding profusely as well. It was just a bloody mess of clothing and loose flesh. He didn't exactly know what other bones were broken but at that point, it wasn't the most concerning. His heart hammered in his chest, the adrenaline running through his veins as he checked for a pulse on her neck.

Jill pulled out her trusty S&W handgun and shot at the forms of both lickers to make sure they stayed down. She used a full clip of ammo on each one.

"She has a pulse but its weak Jill," he said before looking up toward her. Jill could see the helplessness in his eyes. Something she never thought she would ever see from him. He was turning to her for help. She was the much needed leader at this point for the team.

Jill sighed before abruptly turning to face the others. "LJ, Angie, I need the both of you to grab all our equipment and supplies from the room. We have to leave now."

"But I want to see Al—"

"Don't argue. We have to hurry and get out of here. We have to get Alice someplace else." Jill commanded.

"Were on it," LJ responded. He didn't have the heart to pull a joke at a time like this. He grabbed Angie and turned her toward the elevator, turning once more to look at Alice and the sorry form of Carlos kneeling beside her.

"Alright Carlos we need to stop the bleeding and you know it." Jill quickly took off her black jacket to use as a makeshift bandage and tourniquet. Neither her nor Carlos were medical people when they worked in their units, but they were both taught the basics of medical treatment for emergencies such as this.

_What if she doesn't make it? What if this really is the end for her and all of us? No! I shouldn't even think of that. We are getting out of here alive. Our goal is to take down Umbrella and we will. Nothing is going separate us and the team_.

"Snap out of it and help me Olivera", Jill said sternly.

Carlos shook his head to clear his mind. "I'm on it." He got up to take off his belt to wrap around and cover the jacket bandage on her leg, effectively making it tighter. He got up once more to take of his green shirt as it was the only viable clothing he had to use to stop the bleeding. He folded the shirt, pressed it to her stomach, and applied pressure to the wound. "I'm not losing you Alice," he said, breaking the silence.

"Don't worry Carlos. She is a tough girl." Jill put her hand on his bare shoulder and lightly squeezed it as a form of comfort. Something rarely seen coming from Jill.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Location acquired," came the robotic voice from the computer. Scott wiped his glasses and looked at the information of their whereabouts once more.

"Todd!" Scott yelled, jumping up from his chair.

"What? You don't need to dam yell. I can hear you just fine." Todd replied back angrily.

"Call Dr. Isaac and tell him that Alice and the others are in the same location still. The tracking device he put on Angie is working again."

"If I were them I would have left that place by now. Stupid of them to stay", he mumbled to himself before turning around to grab the phone with his chubby hand. He was always the one to call Dr. Isaac and inform him of everything and he hated that.

"Excellent. Don't dispatch the Lickers after all. Send in a group of our best trained Umbrella employees to go in and capture her. I still need Alice alive. She is still a valuable asset to the corporation," he told Todd before ending the brief call.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Before we take everything downstairs we need to change," LJ informed Angie. He was talking more about her then he was about himself.

Angela looked down at her clothes. Her light green shirt was caked in dirt and her blue skirt had a tear on the right side. She wasn't going to argue with LJ. He was right. Her clothes weren't very wearable and she doubted she could use them again.

"Ok," she quietly replied. Angie continued to look at the floor, trying not to think about Alice.

_Dam I'm not the person to comfort others_. "Hey don't worry about Alice. She is a tough gal and ya know that Angie." He softly said to her while secretly hoping it was the right thing to say.

The elevator stopped and the two stepped out and ran to the suite. Angie changed her clothes in her room and tossed the old ones onto the bed. What she didn't know was that the tracking device was on those clothes and that she was getting rid of it. An unknown bonus to her and the team just by changing outfits. She put on a red long sleeve shirt that fit rather loosely and a pair of dark jeans that seemed a little too long, so she rolled them up a bit so as not to trip on them.

LJ grabbed the duffle bag that had weapons and ammunition and the backpack that contained a rapidly diminishing food supply. Angela grabbed the other two black, leftover duffle bags. One contained various clothes for the entire team, and the other contained more food and a very important object. That particular object being her lunchbox-like container filled with the T-virus shots. She needed the shots every three months to keep from turning. There were five shots left.

They quickly left the room and wasted no time in getting into the elevator. Angela pressed the button to the lobby and dropped her bags to the floor. They were heavy for her and she needed a quick rest before picking them up again. Silence ensued until they reached the lobby, which felt like it took an eternity to get to.

Jill turned to see the two exit the elevator. "Take the stuff to the Hummer. We are ditching the truck entirely." She grabbed the keys from her back pocket and tossed them to LJ before focusing back on to Alice once more.

"Alice, you need to wake up." Carlos gently tapped at her face with his huge hands to get her to open her eyes or show some sign of consciousness. She didn't stir, or move to show that she could hear him. Her face was pale and blood still continued to drip from her nose. She wasn't looking good.

"Jill I'm going to pick her up and take her to the Hummer. Can you go and set up her seat? I'll sit right next to her." Jill nodded at Carlos and left to the vehicle.

"I don't know if you can hear me but were getting you out of here Alice. I'm going to have to lift you and it's probably going to hurt. " Carlos attempted to sound like himself but his voice faltered. He didn't want to lose Alice.

He gently put his hands around Alice's waist and picked her up. He winced as he heard her groan in pain.

Carlos reached the Hummer and LJ opened the passenger seat door. The seat was already reclined for Alice so Carlos placed her in and laid her down while trying to avoid touching her injuries. He closed the door and went around to sit in the other passenger seat beside her. Jill was driving, LJ rode shotgun, Alice was behind him with Carlos, and Angie was in the back with the supplies.

Angie couldn't help but notice that Carlos was shirtless, so she shuffled through the clothing bag to look for a shirt that would fit him. She stumbled upon a white T-shirt and tossed it to him.

"Thanks Angie," he said softly. He put his weapons and holster down at the bottom of the seat and put the shirt on before averting his attention back to Alice.

"Shit. Jill we need medical supplies and fast. She is still losing blood." Carlos said. He lightly touched the makeshift bandage on her stomach and it was soaked with blood. He noticed her breathing was slower and more labored.

"It's going to be hard to find any place with supplies" Jill replied. She pressed on the gas pedal and sped up, eyeing the road for any potential trouble.

"I could have sworn there was a clinic in the next town. It was teeming with them motherfuckin' zombies though." LJ exclaimed.

"We don't have much of a choice. Guess that's our next stop." Jill stated.

"How far?"she asked him.

"Do I look like a dam GPS to you?" he replied.

Carlos grabbed Alice's left hand and gently squeezed it just in case she could hear them. He wanted to know he was right there beside her. That the entire team was with her.

**_I could hear the faint sound of voices around me. I couldn't grasp what they were saying. The pain was just overwhelming. Why can't I open my eyes? That voice. It sounds like Carlos."_**Alice I'm right here**_." It hurts to move. Someone is holding my hand but who? It must be Carlos. I curl my hand around his to show that I could hear him. That I could hear all of them._**

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered to Carlos. She knew he had heard her.

Carlos looked at her. His brown eyes showed a mixture of worry and relief. "Alice stay with me. You need to stay conscious. We need to get to a clinic and it's not that far from here. You'll be alright." He stated matter-of-factly.

_**Probably more to reassure himself rather than me. Now I actually remember what happened back there. Those Umbrella Lickers. I didn't want them attacking the others. I wasn't thinking, I just reacted to save Angie and Carlos because those creatures would have killed them. Death surrounds me. Everyone dies around me, but I am always the one to survive. And yet I have lived through this plagued world only to remain useless when it comes to protecting those close to me. Today was different though. No one died.**_

"Alice, if you can hear me, I want to tell you that I know why that Licker dropped dead." Angie said breaking the silence. "When you screamed you used some of your power. I can tell you are beginning to grasp how to control it but you are also unaware of what you are capable of."

"Dang you are smart child. How the heck do you know all this?" LJ inquired.

"And she used it back there didn't she?" asked Jill, completely ignoring what LJ had said. "I think I could tell because I felt a tingling feeling in my body around the same time that last Licker screeched before collapsing."

_**Breathing right now feels like a task. My body feels like deadweight and the pain. It's still there but it doesn't hurt as much. I feel cold**_.

"I felt that too and that's why I'm guessing she used something." Angie replied. "It didn't harm us. Umbrella's experimentation on Alice has brought her to an entire new level with the T-virus. It has bonded with her. I never bonded with the virus so I have to take my shots regularly or risk turning into a zombie."

"They turned her into something she never wanted to be. Alice never asked for this!" Carlos stated angrily. His grip tightened on her hand.

**_I want to talk but I can't. Yes I hate what they have done to me. The worst of it is that I don't feel human anymore. If Angela is right about all of this, then why won't the virus help heal me?_**

"Finally," Jill exclaimed. They were in the abandoned town LJ had been talking about. The sun was beginning to set as they reached their destination.

"Floresville, Population 100," LJ read out loud as they passed the sign.

No zombies were apparent as they drove in. They past the little fire station, the grim-looking general store, and a destroyed gas station before stopping in front of a Family Clinic. There were a couple of houses and other buildings in the area that showed a lot of wear-and-tear. To sum it all up, the town was a complete mess.

"LJ follow me. We have to check if it's clear and quickly." Jill hopped out of the car and pulled her gun out of its holster.

"What? Why me?" LJ asked. He didn't have time to argue about going though for Jill was way ahead of him. "Fuck. It is always the black guys that have to die first too." He muttered before exiting the Hummer.

Carlos reached down to grab his Desert Eagle handgun from the bottom of the seat and placed it on his lap. His right hand was still clasped to Alice's left hand so he turned to use his left arm to inspect her torn leg. It wasn't looking any better.

"Angie, if the T-virus reanimates dead things and pretty much makes them alive again, then why is it not helping seal these wounds on Alice?" Carlos inquired. He was losing patience. Every minute that past brought Alice closer to death.

"I don't know Carlos. I was thinking the same thing. The virus helped me with my medical condition and allowed me to walk again but I can't figure out why it won't work on her." She replied. _What if it is too weak from her using her powers? Like it can only do so much before residing back_.

A loud knock on the car window made Angie lose her train of thought. Carlos, thinking it was a zombie, whipped his gun around to face the window.

"Oh fuck. Hey put that down, it's just me. Bring Alice in 'cus the Clinic is clear." LJ hurriedly said.

_** My body just went from being cold to feeling like it was on fire within an instant. I can't take it! The pain is excruciating. _**I'm not going to make it. I could take the mental pain but not the physical. My body is betraying me.**_**_

"Carlos I-I'm not gunna make it," Alice managed to slip out. Her hand stopped clutching his. She had no strength left.

"Alice? Alice! Shit." Carlos ran to the other side of the car and lifted Alice out of the seat. He tossed her over his shoulder like a rag doll and ran into the clinic with LJ and Angie right behind his tail.

"Carlos what's wrong?" Jill asked worryingly. She closed the clinic doors when all of them made it inside. He didn't answer and ran to an open room to prop Alice onto the cold medical table. She wasn't breathing.

"Fuck!" he propped himself onto the medical table and started to use CPR. He wasn't going to lose Alice. Not now. Not ever. "Look for a defibrillator. Something, anything we can use to stabilize her!" he yelled desperately.

Jill looked through the cabinets within the room while LJ ran to the storage room at the end of the hall. None of them noticed Angie open the clinic doors and run to the car. She opened the back door of the Hummer and unzipped the duffle bag that had her container. AKA, the lunchbox that held the T-virus shots. She grabbed it and turned around to run back to the clinic, only to notice unplanned visitors making their way towards here. A dozen zombies were aiming their way towards the clinic from the general store opposite of where she was. She clutched the lunchbox even tighter and rushed into the clinic and locked the front doors, hoping they would hold when those things reached the clinic. She looked out the glass doors to see the undead making their way across the paved street.

"Nothing is in these cabinets Carlos! It's been wiped clean. Someone else has been through here." Jill said. She ran a hand through her short black hair, clearly frustrated.

LJ returned from the storage room with nothing but a first aid kit. Nothing that could even help the extensive wounds that Alice had. "I'm sorry but this is all I could find. The room was literally empty save for this and a couple of broken medicine bottles." He informed them.

Jill sighed and averted her eyes to the floor. She knew it was too late. Alice was beyond saving now. She walked up to Carlos and grabbed his arm.

"Jill, what the hell? Let go! I have to save her." He said, jerking his arm away from her grasp before continuing to try and resuscitate Alice.

"Carlos just stops already. She's gone." She told him softly. LJ slumped to the floor next to the wall, wishing it wasn't true either, but knowing that it was the truth.

Carlos stopped and grabbed Alice's wrist in hopes of finding a pulse again. "Jill! There's a pulse. Check for yourself." He told her.

Jill put her fingers on Alice's throat and checked. He was right but that still didn't solve the problem. They had no supplies to re-bandage and fix her wounds. No medicine. Nothing.

Carlos looked at the pale face of Alice, her eyes were still closed. He brought his shaking hand and touched her face. He brushed a few strands of her dark blonde hair to the side and laid his hand on her soft cheek.

Angie ran into the room breathing heavily and clutching the lunchbox to her chest. "It isn't over yet," she managed to say. The three adults turned to look at the girl wondering what she was going to do. Angie opened up the lunchbox and in it were five shots containing the blue liquid known as the T-virus. It was fifteen months worth of the virus that could keep her alive. She had to use one on Alice though, cutting her own life estimate to about a year. She didn't care though.

"We have to inject her with this," she informed the others while taking a shot out. The blue liquid swirling around as she prepared it. "She needs more of this right now because whatever is left of the virus within her is too weak to repair her body."

Angie pushed the shot into Alice's heart and everyone watched as the swirling liquid emptied out. She hoped she was right in her theory. It was the only thing left to try anyway.

"Ouch. Into her heart! Isn't that bad?" LJ asked.

"No, it's the quickest way to get it to run through her blood stream." Jill answered. "It's the on-"

Jill was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. LJ jumped from his sitting position to peer out the door of the room they were residing in.

"Shit! I thought the zombies were gone from this town!" he said while pulling out his golden Desert Eagle gun.

Jill ran out the room in front of him to reach the doors. The zombies weren't in just yet. Their hands reached through the door trying to grab at what they thought of as a new meal. She shot at them with pinpoint accuracy and killed the ones trying to enter the door, only to find out a horde of twenty were on their way to the clinic.

"Help me move this blue bench over the doors! We have more coming!" she yelled.

LJ responded, "I saw some old boards in the back room! I'll go and get them." He ran to the back leaving either Angie or Carlos to help Jill. Angie decided to go and see if she could help Jill so Carlos could stay with Alice in case she woke up.

Carlos pressed his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, and waited a moment before whispering, "Alice wake up. Please. You need to wake up."

"Angie I'm glad you came to help but go get Carlos. This bench is too heavy for you and me to move." Jill told her. She was fully focused on terminating the incoming zombies.

"Don't worry Valentine. I've got it." LJ responded to her. He dropped the boards to the floor and ran over to move the bench with Angie still trying to help. Jill continued to fire rounds at the undead to reduce their numbers. She had to slow them down.

"Dam that thing was heavy. Help me with the boards now." He told Jill.

"And nail them with what? The boards don't magically stick to the wall," she retorted to him.

"With these you smartass." He responded back, showing her the nails and hammer he had in his back pocket. He gave her a smile, showing he wasn't scared of her right now. "This place has more hardware than medicine," he added.

Jill narrowed her eyes and glared at him, clearly not liking what he called her but there wasn't any time to get back at him for it. She didn't feel like being dinner for the moaning zombies outside. "Let's get to it then."

Angie watched the two as they sealed the entrance. She didn't want to go back to the other room. She was scared to see if Alice was alive or not. She closed her eyes and clutched her lunchbox tighter.

Carlos opened his eyes but kept the close distance between himself and Alice. He still had his forehead pressed to hers. He had literally been like that for five minutes, waiting for something, anything from Alice. Thinking it really was the end, he wanted the last moment with Alice to be memorable before death decided it was time to take her away from him. He brushed her lips with his hands before moving closer to seal the distance between them.

Alice opened her eyes and gasped for breath. Carlos, startled by the sudden movement, pulled his head back and removed his hands from her face. He was just about to kiss her as well! It didn't matter, he was going to have another chance some other day. But right now, Alice was awake!

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><p><strong>I hope it wasn't too confusing to follow and that you enjoyed it. ;) The town is fictional and just for the sake of this chapter.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

_**Alice opened her eyes and gasped for breath. Carlos, startled by the sudden movement, pulled his head back and removed his hands from her face. He was just about to kiss her as well! It didn't matter, he was going to have another chance some other day. But right now, Alice was awake!**_

Alice opened her eyes to see a very embarrassed looking Carlos sitting right beside her. _Was he about to kiss me_? She threw the thought out of her mind, the slight blush on her cheeks not going unnoticed by Carlos.

Deciding to break the awkward silence first, Carlos started to talk."You have no idea how great it is that you are back with us Alice. I thought that we were going to lose you." Carlos averted his eyes to the floor. He wasn't the usual type to show emotion so easily, but with Alice around it made him different. He was willing to show his more affectionate side with her.

Alice placed her right hand onto his hand and gently squeezed it as a form of comfort considering she couldn't exactly give him a hug. In reality it was rare for to even give a hug, yet she couldn't help but think that Carlos was an exception to that. "Well I'm back now and there isn't anything to worry about Carlos." Alice moved her hand from his hand and gently touched his cheek, forcing him to look up at her. Her dark blue eyes penetrating his brown eyes, showing that she understood him and that she would be there for him and the others. Alice was certainly a tough one.

"Sorry to ruin the moment but there certainly _is _something to worry about," Jill said while putting in a new clip of ammo into her trusty handgun. "Those zombies out there aren't going to exactly leave us alone and I'm not sure how long the barricade will hold."

"What zombies?" Alice asked, confusion clearly showing on her face.

"Well you missed a bit while you were out and on your death bed so to speak," Jill replied. "But it's good to have you back." Jill gave her signature smirk smile to Alice before leaving the room.

"Wait for me Jill." Alice replied feebly as she tried to get up from the table. The surge of pain from all her wounds reminded her that she wouldn't exactly be able to do much after all.

"Whoa. You aren't going to be doing anything at least for awhile Alice. Just lie back down and rest," Carlos informed her. "I will go out and help Jill. You stay put. We don't want those wounds bleeding again."

"I don't think I could move very far even if I tried," Alice responded. Carlos could see the disappointment in her eyes. He knew she hated to be useless in a time like this.

"Ok, well I've got to go and assist Jill with our next plan of action." But before he left Alice's side, he bent down and planted a small kiss on her cheek. He couldn't help it.

Alice was taken aback by the small kiss, but smirked a bit at his action and before he reached the door she said, "Is that really all you've got?"

Carlos abruptly stopped walking, clearly surprised at her response. He turned around with a sly smile on his face before residing back at her side once more. He bent down to whisper in her ear one simple thing. "No. That's not all I've got." Carlos kissed Alice once more but this time on the lips. His daring action caught her by surprise but she responded to his actions by deepening the kiss. Both of them wanted more but like all humans, they need to breath, so they reluctantly broke the very passionate kiss. Both of them with smiles on their flushed faces, ready for more.

"Oh get a room already," LJ exclaimed while leaning on the edge of the door frame and eyeing the two. "Good thing Angie isn't in her to see this."

"LJ when I am fully recovered I am going to—"

LJ interrupted the rest of what Alice was about to say and gave a quick response back. "Hey no worries, I ain't saying anything about what I just saw. If I did, I'd get my ass handed to me by both you and Carlos."

"Damn straight," Carlos answered back to him. He couldn't help but smile at LJ.

"Anyway, hurry and get over here, these zombies aren't exactly going to take a lunch break." With that said, LJ left the room to join Angie and Jill in the beaten up lounge of the clinic.

"You better go Carlos," Alice solemnly said to him. It was time to get back to business and her commanding voice reminded him of that.

"Just get better Alice," he quietly responded back, his gaze breaking away from hers as he turned to leave. Why he hadn't kissed Alice much earlier was all he could really think about.

"Angie, you can go and see Alice now," Jill said as Carlos approached the table. Angie nodded in response and left the room to go and watch over Alice.

"Carlos, we boarded up the front entrance as best we could with what was left here. I'll give that reinforced entrance another day before it succumbs to those things out there. So in the mean time, we need to figure out our next plan of action." Jill was in serious mode now, not that she usually wasn't.

"Alright, well first off, what did this place have to offer us in terms of supplies?" he asked her.

"A first aid kit, couple of hardware tools, and nothing else really. This place was wiped clean during the initial invasion I'm guessing," Jill replied.

Carlos couldn't help but look at a bulletin board across the room. Something stood out to him amongst the colorful papers pinned to the wall there. "And it looks like a map to go along with that stuff you found."

"A map?" she asked.

"Yea look right behind you Jill," he responded back while pointing at the bulletin board. LJ walked around to it and noticed what Carlos was talking about. He removed the advertisements and schedules covering the rest of the map before deciding to just rip it off the board. He placed it on the table they were seated at.

"Can't believe we didn't notice this before," Jill muttered. "It was right there next to the entrance."

"Well there was more stuff to be concerned about," LJ said matter-of-factly. And as if on cue, the moans of the zombies outside picked up again, reminding the three that they didn't have all the time in the world.

"Ok so we are right here," Jill said while playing her index finger on their supposed location on the map. "To the right we have the fire/police station, to the left is the gas station, in front of us is the general store along with some other now destroyed buildings, and in back of us is the community library with more weathered down homes accompanying it."

"And the only road going through here is the one we entered through," Carlos responded grimly.

"And our only exit is through the door we barricaded," LJ said. "Ya think we could make it to the police station place? I mean, it seems to be our best bet."

"Well you are actually right about _something_," Jill retorted to LJ, with which he responded with a glare.

"And they might have weapons leftover in that place if we are lucky. We don't exactly have much ammo left," Carlos informed as he looked at his own weapons.

"What the heck are you talking about? We have an entire bag of weap-"

"That are stuck in the Hummer that we used to get here Jill," Carlos said sternly. "We can't exactly walk over and get them without being munched on."

"Well the population used to be one hundred and Jill mowed down a couple of them motherfuckers earlier. Can't be that hard to get rid of them can it?" LJ said rather too confidently.

"If they weren't all waiting outside in one massive mob then maybe. Not to mention one of our more experienced team members is out of the fight," Jill replied. Jill was tired. The long day of unexpected events had been draining and they were all going without sleep. It didn't help knowing that the dilemma they got themselves into sounded impossible to get out of.

Carlos caught on to Jill. Her actions and look of defeat caused him to realize that they all needed rest at some point. And that rest wasn't going to be achieved until they got to a safer building. That being the police department.

He sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair before speaking once more. "I have a plan, but you aren't really going to like it," he said.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Angie sat by Alice's side, fighting to keep her eyes open and stave off the sleepiness she felt. Alice managed to turn to look at Angie, knowing that a little girl like her needed some rest too.

"Why don't you go find some other place that is actually comfortable and get some rest? Don't worry about me, I'm safer than you think," Alice said to her. Though the way she said it didn't reassure Angie very much. Alice was good at masking her emotions and such, but she couldn't hide the pain that seemed to seep into her voice as she told Angie to get a couple of hours of sleep.

Angie couldn't really argue with Alice though. She was tired and sitting in the chair wasn't very comfortable. "They had a sofa in the lounge where the others were. I think I'll go there for an hour and close my eyes for a bit," she managed to say before letting out a soft yawn.

Alice gave her a weak smile to assure her it was alright. With Alice's reassurance, Angie shuffled out of the room to head to the lounge.

With no one watching anymore Alice let out a small gasp of pain. It felt like fire was creeping through her veins, moving out to the rest of her body. She was glad she was able to hide it so well from Carlos and Angie but now it was impossible for her to hide it anymore. It was the same pain she felt during Raccoon City as the T-virus swept through her system. Waves of pain and the feeling of something crawling through your flesh was the only way to really describe it. But it was worse than before because the virus was fully active and fighting to regenerate the parts of her that were so badly damaged.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"No I won't allow it," Jill said in a husked tone as Angie entered the room.

"Allow what?" Angie asked, the three adults now gazing at her wondering why she came back to the lounge.

"Oh just nothing," Jill managed to tell her. "Something wrong Angie?" she managed to ask.

"No. I just wanted to take a quick nap," she replied back before heading to the green worn out sofa that used to be for the people whom had formerly worked at the clinic.

Not wanting Angie to hear her, Jill whispered to Carlos. "Is this our only option?" The look in Jill's eyes were pleading for some other solution but he couldn't think of anything else so he nodded his head that it was the only way to get out.

"We don't have a choice. We need a decoy to get all of you guys safely over there and I'm our best bet," he whispered back.

LJ gave him a solemn look. His joking demeanor long since gone after listening about the plan. "Are we going to tell Alice about this?" he asked Carlos.

"It's best that we don't," he replied back.

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><p><strong>Sorry to have kept all my dedicated readers waiting. I had temporarily lost my muse for writing but I am back now with back to back chapters to make it up! I hope you are still enjoying my story.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

As Angie fell into a deep sleep the three adults settled on what they were going to do. They would wait until the main entrance was about to give and Carlos would head out with his assault rifle first and head in the opposite direction of the police station toward the gas station. His idea was to draw the crowd of the infected away from the clinic and onto him so that the others could make it to the station with Alice in tow. LJ would carry Alice while Angie would handle the supplies as Jill covered the back for any zombies that decided to make a beeline for them. Once that was done, Carlos would either barricade himself into the general store, or make a turn around and run from the store to the other buildings next to the library in back of the clinic. Either option still left him at the mercy of the undead. He would have to stall until LJ and Jill were able to get more weapons to slowly deplete the mob of undead that would be surrounding him.

Jill gripped onto Carlos' shoulder and asked,"Just promise me you will make it back to us."

Carlos looked at both her and LJ before giving his response. "I promise. Now let's get a move on before we lose our chance."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

The pain had finally subsided for the moment for Alice. She loosened her grasp on the edge of the medical table she lay on, tired and drained of the continuous off and on pain. Through the moments that she could actually think clearly, she thought of that kiss that she and Carlos shared. It wasn't long by any means, but it was definitely passionate. It left her hungry for more. The taste of his lips on hers lingered. It was nothing like when she was with that asshole of a husband Spence. Sure they were together only for the cover up of the Umbrella facility, but she though they had actually fallen for each other. It hadn't been the case after she learned of his betrayal.

LJ entered the room giving her his pearly white smile." Well we're getting out of her and I uhhh, am going to carry you out." He tried to make himself look cheerful like he usually always was so as not to concern Alice.

Alice flinched as she tried to pick herself up a bit. Her body was surely in no means any bit better than it was two hours ago. "I guess you will be LJ. I'm deadweight right now," she said through clenched teeth. That odd pain wasn't back just yet, but she still felt the real pain from her wounds.

"Just waiting for a signal and then we're out of here," he said nervously.

"A signal?" she asked back. He didn't respond back to her though.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"But why do you have to go?" Angie asked Carlos. She was trying her best to fend off the tears.

"Because it's our only option Angela," he told her. He handed the skimpy supplies they had found in the clinic to her. She reluctantly grabbed it from him and moved away from the door to hide in the small lounge with Jill. Both poked their heads around the corner, watching as Carlos slowly moved the bench and bravely started to take the wood barricade down. It was easier than it looked considering the zombies were already breaking it. He couldn't help but think of Alice as he was preparing to leave the team to be the decoy. That kiss they shared was short but sweet and it had left him wanting more until LJ had barged in. The taste of her lips still lingered on his.

To Jill it felt like she was watching everything in slow motion. The last board gave in to the mass of zombies fighting for the taste of their flesh. Carlos mowed down the ones trying to get in with his assault rifle and made his path through the infected and ran toward the left. He yelled for Jill and LJ to make their move as he continued to shoot before his round of ammo was gone. He turned to run as he put his last clip off ammo into his assault rifle. The zombies were indeed fast, but he was just faster.

"Well there's the signal," LJ exclaimed before grabbing onto Alice's waist.

"Wait a minute that sounded like Carlos. Not to mention he and Jill are the only ones with automatics right now," she told him." And I know that sound came from an assault rifle. You better tell me what is happening LJ!"

"Not right now Alice," was all he managed to reply to her. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Alice was really pissed now. She started to hit him with whatever force she could.

"Ouch! What the fuck? You better stop it." He told her."This wasn't my idea!" He had nearly dropped Alice because of the unexpected beating he was getting from carrying the injured woman.

"No I will not sto-"

Alice was cut short of responding because that fire like pain struck her once more. It surged through her body again and she clenched her teeth as it took its toll on her. She was limp and not struggling anymore with LJ. She couldn't move with the immense pain. _Of all the times it strikes right now_.

"You first LJ. Angie follow right behind him and I'll be right behind you guys," Jill commanded, as she readied her own weapons.

They ran opposite of the way Carlos went and headed to the much abused police station.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Carlos glimpsed behind him, watching the mob follow his movements. He couldn't see if the others had left or not or whether any zombies broke off but he had to assume that the others were safe. He made it to the general store only to realize that there was no source of protection it could provide. He was low on ammo, out of breath, and forced to go his alternate route. Carlos shot the zombies that were awfully close to him to keep a somewhat safe distance from them, only to realize he was out of his trusty assault rifle ammo.

"Shit!" That's all Carlos managed to say as he dropped his empty rifle on the ground and pulled out his handguns. The stench of the rotting flesh of the zombies surrounded him; their moans of hunger could be heard all over the town. They wanted that next meal. Carlos wasn't going to give it to them. He knew though that he was going to need help to get out alive, and fast.

XXXXxxxXXXX

Jill and the others arrived at the police station without much trouble. No zombies had broken off from the original mob and she was both thankful for it, but hated the thought of it as well because it meant just that much more trouble for Carlos.

"The door is locked Jill!" Angie worriedly replied after attempting to push it open.

"Hang on, I've got this," she told her.

LJ waited right behind them, still holding Alice over his shoulder. He was out of breath and hurting a bit from where Alice jabbed him at near the ribs. "Hurry up Jill, Alice is freakin heavy!" He remembered to watch his language around Angela now. Jill would constantly give him glares for using foul language around the girl, and he managed to remember that.

Luckily for him, Alice had temporarily blacked out from the pain, for is she had heard him call her heavy, he would've been in a world of hurt by now.

After the third attempt at kicking the door, it gave in and Jill entered first. She took out her flashlight and brought out her handgun, searching around for any unwelcomed visitors. The police station was dark, but otherwise empty. To the left were two wooden benches with one jail cell behind it, in front were police desks with papers skewn across the entire area, and to the right she could only guess as the locker rooms, armory, and entrance to the firestation.

"Just settle Alice on the bench there," Jill said softly. "This place is old but I am betting they have a backup generator somewhere. They had one in Raccoon City," she informed them. She closed her eyes for a second. The pain of losing her very close comrade still felt raw. As if it had happened just yesterday. She opened her eyes and moved further into the Police department in search of the generator.

"Angie, you watch over Alice," LJ said. "I'm going to look out the front door for a bit." He leaned out of the front entrance watching the zombie mob move further and further away. It actually pained him not to be able to help Carlos. Sure he was usually a chicken at times but the feeling of not being able to help left him slightly mad. He couldn't go out there with just his handguns. It would be suicide. Not to mention Jill and Alice and Angela needed him there.

Alice woke up, the expression of pain temporarily gone from her face. She turned to look at Angela only to remember what was happening. She had come to the conclusion that Carlos used himself to get the others to safety and she had to go help him. "I have-to get-Carlos!" She managed to say between ragged gasps.

"Alice, don't get up!" Angie said in a panic. She didn't know what to do. LJ turned to watch in amazement as Alice got up.

The lights in the building turned on and Jill returned to see Alice leaning heavily on the side of the wall. Alice was covered in sweat and still in the bloody clothes from earlier. Her leg was no use as it looked like deadweight from what Jill could see. The movement caused the still healing wound to open up again and blood ran down her leg. Alice cried out in pain, but didn't stop. Through clenched teeth Alice managed say, "I have to go help him. This is my fault."

Jill moved in front of the wall that Alice was desperately gripping on to. She slapped her hand on the wall and placed her other hand on Alice's shoulder. She needed the injured woman's attention and she got it.

"And how are you going to manage that Alice! Roll yourself out there so the zombies can feast on you while Carlos happily skips inside the police station? Because I can assure you he would not be thrilled to discover you sacrificed yourself to get him over here," Jill finished. She wanted to cry. Carlos was a part of all of them and she didn't want to lose another comrade either.

Alice slumped to the floor in defeat. She knew she couldn't do anything right now and her reopened wound left her feeling rather weak.

"I am going to go grab the weapons and go and get him back Alice. Just stay put." Jill wiped the sweat off her brow and turned to the direction of the small weapons room.

LJ continued to keep watch at the door and Angela attempted to re-bandage the wound on Alice's leg.

As Jill entered the weapons room she let out a curse. It was empty as well. Wiped clean from other people that had probably seeked to protect themselves from the viscous zombies as well. She punched the nearby wall in anger and frustration.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Carlos reached the Library rather quickly, his stamina depleted from outrunning the zombies. He pushed the door open and fell in. He moved the nearby chair in front to lock the door in place. He lay on the carpet floor of the damp and musty smelling library to catch his breath. His formerly clean white shirt was now covered in sweat and grime from who knows what.

"I'm not going to get out of here without some help," he said out loud. "Am I even going to make it?" He sighed before saying one more thing into the thick, dense air. "Alice…I am sorry."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Unbeknownst to the team, a patrol car with the S.T.A.R.S logo on the side cruised through the same and only road they had entered through. Right away the man noticed the abandoned yellow Hummer which was definitely out of place in the beaten old-looking town. "Now what do we have here," he muttered under his breath.

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><p><strong>Now who could this person be? Guess you are going to have to read the next chapter when I am done with it! Feel free to drop a review and guess who the person can be as well as guess if it is a friend or foe.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Unbeknownst to the team, a patrol car with the S.T.A.R.S logo on the side cruised through the same and only road they had entered through. Right away the man noticed the abandoned yellow Hummer which was definitely out of place in the beaten old-looking town. "Now what do we have here," he muttered under his breath.

The man exited his vehicle and walked to the back of it. He popped open the trunk of the car, and in it was practically a mini armory of guns and ammunition. He had shotguns, uzis, handguns, a rifle, and an assault rifle all neatly arranged in the trunk. It was a one stop shop for zombie ass-kicking equipment. He himself had some rather thick heavy looking clothing. The mysterious man wore a thick black leather jacket with what appeared to be a bullet proof vest beneath it; black cargo looking pants with plenty of pockets to hold items like ammo; military style boots and elbow and knee guards to top it off. He looked like a man on an impossible mission. His clothing and the way he held his choice of weaponry screamed experience.

"Alright you sons-of-bitches. Time to die. Again," the man said as he stood behind the hood of his car with a rifle. He was around a hundred yards from the crowd of undead that surrounded the ancient looking library. Only one reason for the zombies to attack that building, and it was because there was someone actually alive in it. The man knew that the zombie's goals were one thing and one thing only. To feed on the living flesh of humans.

He shot into the crowd and blew off the head of one unfortunate former citizen, now turned zombie thing. He continued on taking as many down as possible. Time was crucial before that pack of flesh eating beasts found the source of noise and turned to him for their next meal.

"And that is zombie number twenty," he exclaimed while reloading his rifle for the fourth time. "Oh shit."

The pack of zombies finally realized where the noise was coming from. Not to mention their acute smell for flesh. The mob of about forty started to slowly and clumsily veer around to where the man stood.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"I know that I heard gunshots!"

Carlos leaped from the floor and put his ear to the door. The sound of a continuous pop pop could be heard. "It has to be Jill, they must have gotten to the police station and grabbed some weapons from it." Carlos realized that Jill combined with the likes of LJ wouldn't be able to take out that entire mob alone. He stared down at his handguns, emptied the clips and put in the last ammo clips he had on his being.

"Oh what the hell. I'm as good as dead just waiting in here anyway." Carlos removed the chair he had put in place on the door and peeked out the entrance. Indeed the mob was moving away from him and out towards a vehicle he hadn't seen before. It wasn't Jill or even LJ for that matter that was shooting expertly at the zombies.

"Who the fuck is that?" Carlos' day just kept getting better and better. He took careful aim and started to empty his precious ammo onto the distracted bunch of zombies.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Yo! Do you hear that?" LJ asked.

"Yea it sounds like gunfire," Alice replied softly. She could hear five times better than LJ thanks to the T-virus. After all, it provided enhanced hearing. Both a gift and a curse for Alice because even annoying sounds seemed to be amplified. One in particular being LJ's voice.

"Give me those dam guns of yours LJ," Jill demanded. "I need to get out there."

"These things are custom so I ain't given you both woman. I need one just in case them zombies come barreling over here. Got to protect myself and the others too ya know." LJ tossed Jill one of his desert eagle golden guns. She easily caught it with her right hand, and without a second thought, exited the door of the police station.

At the sight of the S.T.A.R.S patrol car, she picked up her pace, but quickly slowed down as she watched the mob of monstrosities heading towards it. Whoever that guy was taking cover behind the vehicle, he was as good as dead if he didn't move.

"Run away from that car you idiot!" she yelled. The man either didn't hear her, or just didn't listen, because he showed no sign of understanding or acknowledgement.

Carlos glanced at the area where he heard the voice of a woman yelling. It was Jill advancing toward the other man. She too was aiming at the mob, which was now down to a comfortable twenty zombies. Enough that they could easily handle now. It was a big amount going from one hundred zombies to just a mere fifth of that.

The now weaponless Carlos decided to make a run around the zombie pack to get to Jill and the other person.

"God damn I have had enough running for one day," Carlos stated in an exhausted voice as he placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Well I think you can rest know Carlos. Glad you made it out of there alive. That was a pretty stupid but brilliant plan you hand going," Jill said as she patted his back.

The man who had only about fifteen yards from Carlos and Jill started to move towards them. His advancement toward the two prompted Jill to pick up her gun and point it at him.

"Woah!" He put his hands up in a surrendering stance."Easy, I'm on your side. I'm not here to harm you. Just saw someone in apparent need of saving."

"Mind telling us who the hell you are?" Jill asked rather rudely. Her gun still pointing at the man. She wasn't taking chances. They had had enough bad experiences as is for the past couple of days.

"Well if it isn't Valentine. Don't you know me?" He removed his sunglasses and watched Jills expression change to shock.

"Chris? It that really you?" Jill walked up to the man and touched his face, as if to make sure she wasn't crazy or seeing some sort of mirage.

"Well I guess you do remember me," Chris replied cheerfully. To cheery for Jill's liking, but he was always like that. No matter how bad it was, Chris was the one that tried to make the best out of everything.

Carlos turned from Jill to Chris and then back to Jill. He was so confused. "Do you guys know each other, and if you do, how?"

"I'll explain it once we get to the police station. You have some more people to meet Chris." Jill said. "Oh and this fellow her is Carlos. The craziest hero type you will ever meet."

"Is that so?" Chris said. He walked up to Carlos and shook his hand. Strong grip. Yep the guy sure was a manly man. Chris just knew it. "The name's Chris Redfield. Nice to meet you."

Carlos gave a small smile before responding. "I'm Carlos. Carlos Olivera. I owe you a thanks for saving my ass back there."

"No problem. I was hoping to find someone in this hellhole that was still alive. Glad I found you guys."

"Redfield you are going to have some explaining to do when we get back over there. Like for starters, how you made it out of Raccoon City _alive_," Jill said. She was leaning on her hip with her arms crossed.

"Well for starters, I wasn't in it when that disaster happened. I was on a leave of absence and heading south to go see my sister. That's when I heard about the nuclear accident. Guess that's what caused this shit? Ya know. Those walking dead things."

"You are wrong about that. We can fill you in on the real story," Carlos informed."Considering Jill and I were in the city when that shit happened."

Chris's eyes widened a bit. "Are you serious? How did you get out of that place?"

"Again, we will talk about it over there. It's getting dark and who the hell knows what else we might bump into." Jill replied impatiently. She tugged the shirt of both men to get them moving. The day they just had was pure torment. Yet, she was glad Carlos was alive and that a man she knew before the Apocalypse wasn't dead.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to those who have continued reading this. Hopefully I can get some reviews that will keep me on track to finishing out this story :)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

LJ squinted to get a better look at the three people approaching the Police Station they had chosen to take refuge in. He brought his up his gun just in case it happened to be what he called, zombie-ass motherfuckers.

"Relax. It's just us," Carlos stated as he stepped up the stairs to the door. Jill and Chris following right behind him.

"Oh thank god. I was getting ready to shoot ya. My expert shots would have left you dead on the street just now."

"Expert? Nothing expert about your aimless shooting," Jill replied to him. She was holding back a laugh so as not to be mean to the poor guy.

"Very funny Jill. Who the fuck are you?" LJ asked the man by Jill's side. He was still holding his golden handgun at the mystery person.

"Chris Redfield. Use to be Jill's partner back in Raccoon City. Can you please move that weapon out of my face? It's one of my best attributes," he snobbily replied.

"Oh jeez get a life," Jill remarked at Chris while rolling her eyes."Hurry up and get into the building unless you feel like sleeping outside."

LJ and Chris frowned at Jill but followed her in. They were surprised to see Carlos giving Alice a tight and embracing hug. Both showing affection through such a meager embrace.

"Glad your back," Alice whispered in Carlos' ear for she didn't want the others to hear. Angie was in the back sleeping off the eventful day.

Carlos breathed in the unforgettable sweet yet strong scent of Alice as if it were his lifeline. "Yea I'm glad to be back. Especially with you." Carlos broke the hug and stood back up. A smile plastered on his tired face. He ran a hand through his dark hair. Something he seemed to do very often.

"Ahem," Jill fake coughed to grab their attention.

Alice and Carlos turned to face the others. Alice gazed at the newcomer. She didn't like the idea of another person with them. It was hard to find someone trustworthy still out in the world.

"My name is Chris Redfield. I use to be in S.T.A.R.S with this lady right beside me," Chris stated enthusiastically as he put a hand on Jill's shoulder.

LJ walked up to Chris and shook his hand. "Welcome to our rag tag team."

Alice nodded her approval of the guy and remained sitting on the bench. She still looked a bit pale from her now non-life threatening injuries.

"Dinner anyone?" Chris asked as the black duffel bag he carried hit the floor. He unzipped it slowly, and in it were military rations, and a couple of canned goods. "It's not the best but I'm hoping it'll do for you guys."

The group sat down to eat a cold but filling dinner. All except Angela because none of them had the heart to go wake up the poor tired girl from her deep sleep.

"So what are our plans from here?" Alice asked in a whisper as she continued eating a can of Spam with crackers. The combination of her food choice made LJ feel sick. He was enjoying something of what he thought as a little more appetizing. Pork'n Beans in a can.

"I don't really know," Jill replied in an equally low voice.

"I was planning to go up and down the east coast in search of survivors. More so in hopes of finding Claire," Chris replied sadly. He pulled out a worn and crumpled picture from his vest. It was a picture of a smiling redhead woman hugging Chris tightly.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Alice asked innocently.

Chris chuckled."No that there is my sister. I left Raccoon before the incident to go and pay her a surprise visit but came in contact with these nasty undead before reaching over there. But anyway, mind filling me in on the real story of how this all happened?"

Since Angela and LJ were asleep, Jill, Alice, and Carlos each took turns in telling the story of what they went through in the city. They told Chris how Umbrella sealed off the city, how they found Angela Ashford, the daughter of the man who created the T-virus, who they lost during the dangerous encounters of undead, and how Alice had to face off against project Nemesis who turned out to be Matt. Alice and Carlos also filled in who they were and what they did before everything happened.

What seemed like hours that passed, they covered most of what Chris needed to know. All to which he replied, "Wow."

"It's a lot to take in," Jill exclaimed to him. "But can you say something more than _wow?_"

"No kidding," he answered her, his eyebrows raised. "So Alice, you use to work as the head of Security for the Hive? Carlos, you worked for Umbrella as well?"

Both nodded at him.

"Must have been quite the turn around. I mean you guys want to destroy the Corporation that you worked for. I can see why though, and if you need an extra guy, I'm here to help."

Jill smiled at Chris. "We can sure use it."

Carlos let out a long and drawn out yawn. He was tired from all the hectic events from the past couple of days. He had been going on little sleep and now it was catching up to him.

"You should probably get some rest. I'll take the first watch and guard the building." Jill instantly offered. She too was stifling a yawn. Jill was just as tired as Carlos.

"Better yet. Why don't all three of you get some rest and I keep watch. I had some sleep while trying to recuperate and am better off than you guys," Alice stated.

Chris raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Alice's leg. He wasn't entirely convinced she could run, much less walk. "Are you sure about that?" he questioned.

"Yea. I mean the most you could do is limp to the door," LJ answered. He knew Alice was a forced to be reckoned with, but even the best can only do so much when they are injured.

"I'm already a lot better than I was a couple of hours ago. Trust me, I can manage some meager watching," Alice replied in a bored tone. To prove she would be alright, she walked toward the front door. Effectively hiding the signs of pain that shot up her leg and side as she took each step. "I was head of Security for a reason you know."

"I guess so," Jill answered slowly. She wasn't going to argue with Alice. Jill needed some rest.

Both her and Chris shrugged and left to the back with LJ and Angela. Cots had been stored in the fire station adjacent to the police station, and they brought them into the building to sleep on.

Carlos however lingered, hovering by Alice's side. He hesitantly put his arm around her waist. "I'm going to stay on watch with you."

Alice looked into to his big brown eyes. She saw concern etched all over his face. Alice leaned in closer to him, both as a form of comfort and support for her injured leg. She simply replied, "Ok." No way was she going to win over this discussion. In all honesty though, she wanted Carlos with her right now.

Both of them went straight out the door together and Carlos closed it behind them. They stepped out on to the stairs and plopped down to sit on them. They sat close together, Carlos' arm slung over Alice's shoulder.

To Carlos, the moment was just a perfect state of peace. He enjoyed sitting with Alice in silence. Both of them staring out at the night sky and just gazing at the stars that littered space. Both of them lost in thought, yet enjoying the time they were spending together.

Carlos turned to look at Alice and she turned to face him. _She has the most beautiful blue-green eyes I have ever seen._ At that instant, Carlos came to the realization that he loved Alice. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Even in the zombie infested world they had to call home.

Alice gazed at the man in front of her. She had told herself she would never fall in love with someone else. For one, the man that had been her husband, Spence, ended up being the asshole that let the T-virus loose in the first place. Yes the marriage was fake, but she thought there might have been something between them. It all just turned out to be nothing but just plain sex. Although, the sex had been great. Then there was Matt. She escaped with him from the Hive and had been falling for him because he was the one who was the entire opposite of Spence. They had no chance together thanks to the intervention of Umbrella. Whom turned Matt into Nemesis and whom forced her to fight the man she had promised she wouldn't let die. So all in all, she thought she was done with men. Until Carlos had found his way into her heart.

Alice daringly brought her hands up to touch Carlos face. She could feel the rough stubble on his cheek, considering they didn't exactly have grooming necessities like a shaver. Alice liked Carlos like that though. It gave him an edgy, sexy look.

The two leaned in closer and their lips met. The kiss was soft and short at first, but that quickly turned into a more passionate kiss. Alice placed her hand through Carlos' soft black hair and pushed him more into the kiss. To which Carlos answered with a soft moan before pulling away for air. Foreheads pressed together they relished in the moment. Alice was finally letting loose her protective barrier for the man she was falling in love with.

"I want to be with you Alice. I promise I'll protect you. I know that now isn't the best time for a confession when we need to take down Umbrella, but I can't wait any longer. Especially when I love you." Carlos sighed. He got what he had been wanting to say off his chest now. But how would Alice take it? Did he make himself sound like a fool? Questions flew through his head as he wondered if he did the right thing or not in making a confession.

Alice tensed in his arms for a moment. _He loves me? I thought I was the only one but now that he confessed than I suppose not._ Alice moved a bit to look into his eyes. She smirked a bit before giving her response. "Really? I guess I am not the only one thinking the same thing."

Carlos let out a breath that he didn't know he was even holding in. He smiled before moving in again to kiss Alice on the lips again. Maybe they had something to finally look forward to after the hectic week.

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><p><strong>Thought there should be some AliceCarlos action finally. Hope you like Chris joining in on the adventure with the team. I want to give a big thanks to all my reviewers! My updates might come in a bit late as school starts tomorrow. (ugh)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the late update! School has not been kind to me haha. I want to give a big thanks to all of my reviewers who have followed this story as it means a lot to me :)**

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><p>"Any news of Project Alice?" Dr. Isaacs questioned his subordinates. He was desperate for any news of finding his experiment. Especially when that project could mean the source of ridding the world of zombies. As well as his source of power for taking over the Corporation and maybe even the world if he was lucky. Dr. Isaacs was tired of taking orders from the higher ups that ran the company. Especially the asshole Wesker and asswipe Caine. Well at least Caine was dead already.<p>

"It's hard to work with the limited amount of satellites and power. Not to mention we know she had been avoiding the signals for awhile," Todd answered back.

"Gah! Well it'll only be a matter of time before she manages to slip and the satellite ends up triangulating her coordinates and whereabouts. Continue on with the search," Isaacs commanded.

"Sir I might have found a possible location because the tracking device that was implanted into Alice has flickered at least once in this area," Scott explained while pointing out a location on the map on his computer.

"Floresville? That isn't too far from here." Isaacs muttered. "Dispatch Umbrella workers tomorrow to the area to scout. We need her back."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Unfortunately for Alice, sleep got the best of Carlos so she forced him inside to rest up for the majority of the night. Which pretty much left her alone to keep watch through the eerie and silent night. Alice didn't mind though because it gave her some alone time to think of the past events.

Alice let out a heavy sigh into the cold night air. She gently touched the back of her head, as if to look for some cut or bump. Anything unusual or that hadn't been there before she had been captured by Umbrella and made into Project Alice. She could feel a tingling in her head. As is signals were being sent somehow through her brain.

"Why me?" Alice whispered into the darkness as she leaned back to survey the mass amount of stars. She just knew that Dr. Isaacs was still searching for her and following her movements the best he could.

_I can't stay here any longer. I have to leave the group….And as much as I don't want to, I have to leave him. I have to leave Carlos. It's the only way to keep him safe. And out of anything I ever wanted, it's to have him alive rather than dead. I've lost too many as is and there is no way the rest of the group is dying because of me. They are after me and me only._

Alice made a crucial and painful decision. She had to leave and go on her own. It was just best if she weren't around people. Alice decided the best time for her to leave unnoticed was before dawn. The night was still young and she had time to prepare.

Alice looked down at her leg. "Hurts like hell." She winced in pain after applying pressure with her hand to test out the injury. "I'm gunna end up limping for a little while longer I guess."

What the others didn't know was that the T-virus minimized the pain. She could tolerate more than a normal human could take. While an actually punch would hurt like hell for most, if someone punched Alice, it would probably just tickle a bit. Maybe sting a little if they were good.

Alice went inside as quietly as possible. (If dragging your leg and gripping the wall didn't count.) She grabbed the keys of the S.T.A.R.S vehicle off the counter seeing Chris was dumb enough to leave them unattended, and headed for the door before coming to an abrupt stop.

_I can't just leave without leaving something for them._ Alice made her way to the desks and even though it was just as dark inside the building as it was outside, she opened the cabinets and searched for two things. Pen and paper. That of which seemed to still be abundant considering the items weren't a priority on a survival list. It wasn't to hard to find either because once more, she had an advantage that no human would have. Better vision for long distance as well as for night. _I need to get out of here. Think I can hear someone moving around in the back room._

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Angela tossed and turned in her squeaky cot bed before giving a soft sigh and getting up in a seated position. She had a dream, or nightmare to be more exact. Most of her dreaming turned into nightmares. Many having to do with Umbrella and zombies or just plain scary stuff. Her father once told her that dreams were the work of an overactive brain that had memories or problems at the front of the mind. Which would eventually turn up in a dream in one way or another. She hoped that was just it.

Jill turned around to face Angie. Jill was a light sleeper and had heard the little girl toss and turn and talk in her sleep for a good amount of the night.

"What's wrong?" Jill whispered to Angie. She got up to sit by the girl's side. Jill wasn't sure is Angie could use a hug or not.

Angie looked behind her to see if any of the others woke up, but the soft sounds of snoring and breathing made her realize they weren't getting up.

Jill followed Angie's gaze to the others in their beds. And as if she could read Angie's mind she spoke softly. "Don't worry. They aren't going to wake up. Men. Such heavy sleepers sometimes." Jill rolled her eyes.

Angie fought back a laugh before frowning again. "I'm really fine Jill. I just had a nightmare that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Angela just shook her head. "No, I think I will just go back to sleep now."

"Alright but I am right her if you need anything." Jill gently squeezed Angie's arm as a form of showing her that she was there to talk to. Jill walked back to her cot and laid back down. Angie followed suit.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

It took Alice a good part of the night to finish two measly letters. One was for the entire group and one was for Carlos. She knew he would be the first one up out of the group, and the first one to go and try and cover the shift for her.

Alice neatly folded both and put them on the counter of the Police Station before lifting herself up from the wooden chair and hastily exiting the building. It took all her might not to cry. Hell, it took all she had not to want to go back inside and just stay. Alice wanted so badly to run into her man's arms. She wanted Carlos to be the one to comfort her but there was just no way.

Alice half-limped and half-walked to the parked car across from the station. All the while gritting her teeth from the pain of her leg. Alice left all the food and items to the group excluding whatever Chris had left in his vehicle. That of which was leftover weaponry he didn't take with him.

"Goodbye," Alice shakily said into the cold night air as she started the engine. Nothing was stopping her. It were better if she weren't around people.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Alice! ALICE!"

The sound of Carlos yelling woke everyone up.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you really want zombies heading this way?" Jill angrily stated as she walked out from the back.

"Alice left." Carlos said simply. His back was facing her and he was leaning out the doorway.

"What? Why?" Jill questioned. She looked at the crumpled note he held in his hand.

"Read that note over there," he said weakly while pointing at the counter.

Chris and LJ walked out the room. Both yawning and rubbing away sleep from their eyes.

"What in the world was all that about?" LJ managed to say while stifling a yawn.

Jill walked over to the bench and plopped down with the note in her right hand. "Alice left us," she numbly explained to the two. _How will I explain this to Angie? Damnit Alice why did you have to leave. You left me in charge and you left me to take care of Carlos. How could you do this to him too?_

"Jill?" Angie asked as she came to the front of the police station with the rest of the group. "That was the nightmare I had. It was Alice leaving us because Umbrella was after her. Tell me it isn't true."

Jill turned away unsure of how to answer the little girl. Fortunately Carlos saved her.

"Don't worry. She left for a little bit but we are going to get her back."

Carlos shoved the crumpled note in his pocket. It was the one thing Alice had left for him and he was going to keep it.

"Got that right," LJ said.

"I'm with you," Chris exclaimed.

It was settled. They were leaving in search of a very good and trusted comrade. After all, the fight with Umbrella had just begun. And everything always eventually comes to an end.

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><p><strong>I decided to end this story with this chapter (don't hate me for it!). However, this is not the end as I am going to make a sequel in the near future because I can't just leave Alice and Carlos separated :) Feel free to leave a review on what you would possibly want in the next sequel. Maybe more action, suspense, AliceCarlos maybe Jill/Chris, I'm willing to look at any ideas.**


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